Saturn's new roadster sets a style and performance high water mark for the brand. It's not so much a maxi Miata as a Corvette junior petite.

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At 2940 pounds, our phone-book-yellow Sky was 63 pounds more massive than our last Solstice tester and 515 pounds more portly than our last Mazda MX-5. No shocker then that the Sky demanded 7.3 seconds to make 60 mph and wouldn't be bullied to its 88-mph quarter-mile in less than t15.9 seconds. Flog as we might, we couldn't duplicate our last Solstice sprint times (6.7 seconds to 60 mph, which somehow matched the MX-5 it was being compared against).

We've run the clock on three Kappas now and believe the Sky's performance to reflect the effort buyers can expect from the rated 177 horsepower. Those who require more fun in the sun can wait for Saturn to uncork the Sky Red Line this fall, equipped with a 2.0-liter turbo making 260 horsepower. Pontiac will have its Solstice GXP, and prices should start in the higher 20s.

Until then, the Sky's chief assets will be its looks and stiff chassis, which kept the car flat and planted while chasing hairpins in the Santa Monica Mountains behind Malibu. Compared with a Mazda MX-5, or indeed a BMW X5, the Sky feels wide and the seats set deep in the body. The vibe, enhanced by the view forward of bat-wing fenders, is distinctly Corvette without the V-8 thunder. Steering feel, critical to a roadster's street credentials, proved worthy of tight roads with fast-changing cambers and pitching pavement. The large wheel jigs and tugs just enough to keep drivers on the tires' wavelength. The Sky turns with commitment and holds a tight line through corners with no squealing or sloppy body motions.

Gerbil-grade power means frequent downshifts and long periods with the pedal buried. A shifter that slides precisely and feels better than a pickup truck transmission has a right to is close enough to the wheel to be flicked with a fast hand motion. Danger is virtually unknown. When the grip breaks, it does it gradually, predictably, and in sports-car style from the rear. Catch the little slides with a little gas and a little countersteer, and push on with one big grin.

Eventually, a few clouds catch up to the Sky. Saturn small-car product manager Steve Mertes says styling is the No. 1 reason for purchase of a convertible. That overarching fact is perhaps why GM sacrificed common sense in a few places. The interior has tidy forms but ergonomics on par with a game of Twister. The window buttons and mirror control reside closer to your elbow than your fingers and require an uncomfortable wrist wrench to operate. The cup holders are almost useless, the gauges too small and dark in the bottom of their tubes.

Assuming your right arm doesn't have quadruple joints, you'll have to corkscrew around and open the small cubby between the seats with your left hand -- a move called the John Denver, in honor of the singer who died while attempting the same thing in his airplane. Top down, the twin fairings of the trunklid cast a striking profile, and the cabin is nicely insulated from wind. But the top's design and operation may put you in too foul a mood to fully enjoy it. First, someone must get out to operate the top, an imposition MX-5 owners will smirk at as they two-finger their tops from the driver's seat.

Also, the Sky's top never stacked neatly, having to be pushed down against its will in order to get the lid closed. Because waterproofing the Sky depends on the interference fit of miles of thick rubber seals, multiple slammings were required of the trunk and doors before anything would latch. At times the Sky feels less like a car than an overstuffed suitcase.

Speaking of which, you can leave those at home. GM claims five cubic feet of trunk space with the top up, perhaps with a supercomputer adding up all the odd crannies around the carpeted mound that is the fuel tank. Unless your bag can deform into the shape of a poster tube, it'll be no more welcome in the trunk than it would be around a coffin already in its hole.

Complaints duly noted, the Sky drives well despite its weight and catches stares under blue skies. Many will find more to love in the crafty MX-5, but the Sky's styling and standard features make it the first sunny patch in Saturn's long winter of discontent.